Smoke detector maintenance and verification tool

Abstract

A smoke detector verification system, which includes a smoke detector, a portable computer system and an optical receiver, verifies the operation of the smoke detector. The smoke detector includes a light emitting diode (LED) that is periodically modulated to provide status information about the smoke detector. The portable computer system stores the status information that is received from the optical receiver, which is coupled to the portable computer system. The optical receiver receives the status information from the LED and provides the received status information to the portable computer system.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A method for verifying the operation of a smoke detector, comprising the steps of: 
       periodically modulating a light emitting diode (LED) of a smoke detector to provide status information about the smoke detector;  
       providing a portable computer system to store the status information, the portable computer system including a port; and  
       providing an optical receiver coupled to the port of the portable computer system, the optical receiver receiving the status information from the LED and providing the received status information to the portable computer system.  
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the portable computer system is one of a laptop computer system, a notebook computer system and a handheld computer. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the status information includes at least one of a device serial number, an elapsed time since last test, a current smoke level, a number of alarms since production, an elapsed time since last alarm, a battery level, an ambient temperature and selected options. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the LED emits visible light. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the status information is transmitted at a rate of 9600 bits per second. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the status information is transmitted with a character format of one start bit, eight data bits and one stop bit. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the port is an RS232 port and the optical receiver includes a photo-detector and an amplifier for amplifying the status information to conform to standard RS232 voltage levels. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the port is one of an RS232 port, a USB port and an IEEE 1394 port. 
     
     
       9. A smoke detector verification system for verifying the operation of a smoke detector, comprising: 
       a smoke detector including a light emitting diode (LED) that is periodically modulated to provide status information about the smoke detector;  
       a portable computer system for storing the status information, the portable computer system including a port; and  
       an optical receiver coupled to the port of the portable computer system, the optical receiver receiving the status information from the LED and providing the received status information to the portable computer system.  
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the portable computer system is one of a laptop computer system, a notebook computer system and a handheld computer system. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the status information includes at least one of a device serial number, an elapsed time since last test, a current smoke level, a number of alarms since production, an elapsed time since last alarm, a battery level, an ambient temperature and selected options. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the LED emits visible light. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the status information is transmitted at a rate of 9600 bits per second. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the status information is transmitted with a character format of one start bit, eight data bits and one stop bit. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the port is an RS232 port and the optical receiver includes a photo-detector and an amplifier section for amplifying the status information to conform to standard RS232 voltage levels. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the port is one of an RS232 port, a USB port and an IEEE 1394 port. 
     
     
       17. A smoke detector that provides periodic status information, comprising: 
       a processor;  
       a memory subsystem for storing information coupled to the processor;  
       a light source coupled to the processor;  
       a light receiver coupled to the processor; and  
       a light emitting diode (LED) coupled to the processor, wherein the LED is controlled by the processor to provide periodic status information about the smoke detector.  
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the status information includes at least one of a device serial number, an elapsed time since last test, a current smoke level, a number of alarms since production, an elapsed time since last alarm, a battery level, an ambient temperature and selected options. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the LED emits visible light. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the status information is transmitted at a rate of 9600 bits per second.